Hinge



P 9, 1953 J. E. VANDERWALKER 2,850,760

HINGE Filed Sept. 8, 1955 IN V EN T 0R. 7 1, 3 JOSEPH E. WI/VDER/VALKER @W g f TQF/VEYS Patented Sept. 9,1958

HINGE Joseph E. Vanderwalker, Pueblo, Colo.

Application September 8, 1955, Serial No. 533,080

Claims. (Cl. 16-163) This invention relates to hinges; and more particularly, to a hinge for attaching a lid to the body of a receptacle.

One of the most important objects of the present invention is the provision of a hinge member which may be used to attach a lid to a receptacle body in a manner such that the lid may be lifted off the receptacle and supported alongside thereof out of the way. The lid remains permanently attached to the body of the receptacle and cannot become lost or misplaced.

The hingemember of the present invention is especially suitable for use with refuse containers. The average refuse container is subjected to considerable abuse from the refuse collectors who often misplace or bend the lids if they can be separated from the container body. Also, dogs occasionally dump over an easily opened refuse container and strew the refuse over the yard. With the present hinge member, however, it becomes extremely difficult for a dog or other animal to lift the lid from the container in order to obtain access to the refuse contained therein.

Receptacle lids attached to the body of the receptacle with conventional door-type hinges are easily broken off if the lid is permitted to fall back when opened. By means of the hinge member of the present invention, however, it is possible to swing the lid into position alongside the receptacle where it cannot be broken off and, such movement of the lid is accomplished without the use of the conventional devices for preventing the lid from being opened too widely.

Additional objects of the present invention are the provision of a hinge which is sturdy, simple, inexpensive, and readily adaptable to use with many different sizes and shapes of receptacles and lids.

Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed out specifically hereinafter in connection with the description of the drawing which follows, and in which:

Figure l is a fragmentary perspective view showing the hinge of the present invention connecting the lid to the body of a receptacle;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical section showing the hinge supporting the lid in fully open position with respect to the body of the receptacle; and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical section showing the hinge holding the lid in closed position on the body of the receptacle.

Referring now to the drawing, reference number indicates, in a general way, a receptacle of any desired size, shape or style, having a body 12 open at the top and a lid 14 adapted to form a cover or closure for the body.

The hinge of the present invention, indicated in a general way by numeral 16, comprises connector 18 and mounting brackets 20 and 22 attached at opposite ends of the connector for pivotal movement. Mounting bracket 20 is made from a strip of metal or the like bent to form parallel cars 24 on opposite ends of base 26. The base 26 of mounting bracket 20 is formed to fit the surface of lid 14 at the point of attachment thereto by means of fasteners 28.

Mounting bracket 22 is similar to mounting bracket 20 in that it is shaped to provide a base 30 having parallel cars 32 formed at opposite ends thereof. The parallel ears of mounting bracket 22 are, however, preferably provided with slots 34 extending generally in the direction of the length of the ears for the reception of sliding fasteners 36 which are used to pivotally connect the bracket to the connector.

Connector 18 is formed of two identical strips of metal or the like having a shank 38 terminating at one end in a book 40. The two elements which form the connector are attached to one another in a manner such that the opposite identical ends thereof lie in parallel relation and spaced apart 'a distance substantially equal to the spacing between the ears of the mounting bracket to which they are pivotally attached. The. central portion 42 of the shank of each element may be bent inwardly into contacting relation with one another so that they may be riveted together by rivet 44, as shown in Figure 1, without the necessity of employing additional braces to hold the elements. in spaced parallel relation. The terminal end of hook 40 is attached to mounting bracket 22 by means of.

sliding fastener 36 for both pivotal and limited sliding movement relative to the bracket. The opposite end of the connector is attached for pivotal movement to bracket 20 by means of fasteners 45.

Mounting bracket 22 is attached to the inner surface of the receptacle body along the top edge by fasteners 46 with the ears projecting inwardly, as shown. Bracket 20 is attached to the underside of the lid preferably at or near the center. The point of attachment of bracket 20 to the lid is, of course, determined by the length of the connector; however, the connector is preferably sized to permit the bracket 20 to be attached near the center of the lid. The connector is attached to bracket 22 with the hooks curving upwardly when the lid is closed as in Figure 3. When positioned thus, the hook will hook over the upper edge of the receptacle body when the lid is lifted into position alongside the body as shown in Figure 2. The space between the hook and the shank of the elements which comprise the connector is adapted to con-- form to the thickness of the wall of the receptacle body- When the lid is opened the sliding fasteners move out wardly in the slots 34 so that the connector will be in position to hook over the upper edge. of the body. Slots. 34 permit the sliding fasteners 36 to move inwardly when the lid is closed so that the hooks will clear the wall of the receptacle body. It will appear from a study of Figures 2 and 3 of the drawing that the slots 34 can be eliminated and the slide fasteners replaced by a fixed pivot if the space between the hook and shank of the connector is widened; however, such a construction requires that the bracket 20 be very precisely positioned on the lid if the lid is to close. Therefore, the slotted construction of bracket 22 is preferred as it permits the lid to move transversely of the receptacle body to allow for slight deviations in the mounting of bracket 20. A slight downward and inward inclination of the slots 34 facilitates opening and closing the receptacle as lifting the lid tends to lift the fastener in the slot; and conversely, closing the lid acts to force the fastener toward the lower end of the slot.

In the preferred construction of the hinge, the hooks make less than a turn on the end of the shank so that the lid will be held slightly away from the side of the receptacle body when in open position.

From the foregoing description of the drawing it will be seen that the hinge of the present invention has many novel and useful features not found in the prior art hinges; and therefore,

I claim:

1. In a hinge, a connector element formed to provide bifurcated portions lying in spaced substantially parallel relation at opposite ends thereof, the bifurcated portion on one end being formed to provide spaced substantially parallel hooks, each of the hooks including a shank portion and a return portion interconnected by an arcuate portion, the return portions lying in spaced relation to the shank portions to provide a notch therebetween, a first bracket having a base and spaced substantially parallel ears formed at opposite ends of the base, means comprising slot and pin pivotal connections interconnecting the ears of the first bracket and the return portions of the connector element for limited sliding movement relative to one another, and a second bracket including a base and spaced substantially parallel ears formed at opposite ends of the base, the ears of the second bracket being connected to the bifurcated portion at the other end of the connector for pivotal movement.

2. The device as set forth in claim 1 in which the slot and pin pivotal connections provide for limited relative movement in the direction of the length of the ears.

3. The device as set forth in claim 1 in which the slot and pin pivotal connections comprise pins carried by the return portions and mounted within slots in the ears of the first bracket extending generally in the direction of the length thereof.

4. A hinge for attaching the lid of a receptacle to the body thereof comprising, a first mounting bracket including a base and spaced substantially parallel ears formed at opposite ends thereof, the first bracket being adapted for attachment to an inside wall of a receptacle body adjacent the rim thereof with the ears extending inwardly, a second mounting bracket including a base and spaced substantially parallel ears formed at opposite ends of the base, the second bracket being adapted for attachment to the underside of the lid of the receptacle with the ears thereof extending downwardly, a connector element having opposite ends thereof formed to provide bifurcated portions, the bifurcated portion at one end being attached to the ears of the second bracket for pivotal movement, the bifurcated portion at the other end being formed to provide upwardly curving hooks arranged in spaced substantially parallel relation, and means comprising slot and pin pivotal connections interconnecting the free ends of the hooks with the ears of the first bracket for limited sliding movement relative to one another, the hooks being sized and arranged to receive the rim of the receptacle body when the lid thereof is moved from closed position to a position alongside the body.

5. The device as set forth in claim 4 in which the slot and pin pivotal connections provide for relative sliding movement of the connector element in the direction of the length of the ears of the first bracket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,029,047 Claver June 11, 1912 1,860,245 Green May 24, 1932 2,284,951 Doman June 2, 1942 2,323,093 Levin June 29, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 517,727 Canada Oct. 25, 1955 

